230 Miscellaneous. 
attention. Some of them live in caves, others in the earth, and some 
are domesticated among the Ants. | 
The absence of the eye is not the character of a distinct family ; 
several genera belonging to different families present the same ano- 
maly. None of these insects have hitherto been made the subject of 
anatomical investigation ; but I have examined the nervous system of 
five species, the only ones that I have been able to procure in suffi- 
cient number. Several of the others are so small that they cannot 
be dissected. These five species belong to four families of Coleoptera ; 
three live in caves, namely, Aphcnops Leschenaultii (Carabidee), Ade- 
lops pyrenceus, and Pholeuon Querilhaci (Silphales); one lives with 
ants, namely Claviger Duvalit (Pselaphide); and the last is found 
deep in the earth, this is Langelandia anophthalma (Latridiide). 
Tn all these insects the eye is entirely wanting. The abortion of 
this organ induces the disappearance of the optic nerve, and even 
that of a portion of the nervous centres; for the cerebroid ganglia, 
instead of forming a mass placed transversely in the head, have the 
form of two elongate-oval bodies placed nearly parallel to each other. 
This form resembles that of the cerebroid ganglia of some blind larvee 
the perfect insects of which possess eyes.— Comptes Rendus, November 
25, 1867, p. 890. 
Action of the Induction-current upon Plants. 
By C. BronpEav. 
M. Blondeau has pursued his investigation of the effect of the in- 
duction-current upon the vegetable organism (see p. 33) by examining 
its action upon the fruit and seed. 
Acting upon fruits the current hastens their maturity. Apples, 
pears, and peaches which had been subjected to the action of the 
current arrived at-complete maturity when the other fruits of the 
same plant, which had not been operated upon, were still far from 
being ripe. 
The most curious results were obtained by electrifying seeds before 
placing them in the ground. Seeds were rendered conductive by 
soaking them for some time in water, and then submitted for a few 
minutes to the action of the current. Peas, French beans, and wheat 
were experimented on. The electrified seeds always germinated 
sooner than those which had not been acted on by the current; the 
development of the plant was more rapid, and the stalks and leaves 
greener and more vigorous. 
Some of the electrified French beans presented a very curious pe- 
culiarity ; they germinated downwards, the gemmule and cotyledons 
remaining in the ground, and the root rising into the air. The au- 
thor remarks upon this peculiarity, which he compares to the effect 
of the current upon the poles of a magnet, and indicates that the 
embryo may hence be assimilated to a little magnet, having its neu- 
tral line, and its two poles each charged with a peculiar fluid tending 
to cause its organs to grow towards the centre of the earth or towards 
the sky.—Comptes Rendus, November 4, 1867, pp. 762-763. 
